Kuala Lumpur police estimate that about 18,000 people took part in the Turun Anwar rally today, although its organiser, PAS Youth, claims that there were more than 200,000 participants based on their own headcount.
Acting city police chief Usuf Jan Mohamad said no disturbances were reported and that everything went smoothly for the most part, except for the stage at Dataran Merdeka which was taken apart by authorities.
Usuf thanked the rally-goers for gathering peacefully and not provoking the over-3,000 policemen who were on duty.
He said the police will look into the speeches made at the rally in case any of the speakers had touched on the 3Rs (race, religion, royalty) or made seditious remarks.
“We estimate that 18,000 people took part in the rally. There were no police reports and no issues, so we want to thank them for gathering peacefully,” he said at a press conference at Dataran Merdeka.
However, PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden claimed that there were “nearly 200,000 participants or more”, adding that some had camped out in the city centre since Friday night.
The Alor Setar MP criticised the authorities for dismantling the stage that had been set up at Dataran Merdeka, repeating his claim that they were given permission to set it up following discussions with the police.
He accused the police of obstructing the rally and setting up roadblocks to deter rally-goers.
Usuf maintained that the stage was dismantled in view of public safety. He reiterated that police were not informed about it and there were safety concerns since there was no indication as to how many people would be on the stage at any one time.
“My advice to the organisers is to be more transparent with us in the future,” he said.
